Oregon's Rent Cap and Eviction Rules: What UO Students Renting in Eugene Should Know

Oregon caps rent increases at 9.5% for 2026 and 10% for 2027, and a landlord can raise your rent only once in any 12 months, never during your first year, and only with 90 days' written notice. The cap doesn't cover buildings less than 15 years old. After your first year in a place, an Oregon landlord also can't end your tenancy without a reason. And Eugene adds its own rules on top: a $10 limit on application fees and, in several situations, a relocation payment equal to two months' rent.

Key Takeaways

• 9.5% is the most a covered Oregon landlord can raise rent in 2026. For 2027 the state has set the cap at 10%.
• No increase in year one, one increase per 12 months after that, and 90 days' written notice every time.
• Newer buildings get a pass (anything whose first certificate of occupancy is under 15 years old), so ask when your building opened.
• After the first year, "no reason" stops being a reason. Landlords need tenant cause or one of four qualifying landlord reasons.
• Eugene caps application fees at $10 and deposits at two months' rent.
• Two months' rent in relocation money can be owed to Eugene tenants after certain terminations, a non-renewal of a lease shorter than a year, or a rent hike at the state maximum.

How Much Can a Landlord Raise Rent in Oregon in 2026?

9.5% is the ceiling for 2026. Oregon's Office of Economic Analysis sets it every fall using a formula from ORS 90.323 and 90.324: 7% plus inflation, but never more than 10%. The office has already published the 2027 number, and it's the full 10%.

The timing rules matter as much as the percentage. Your landlord can't raise rent at all during the first year of your tenancy. After that, it's one increase in any 12-month period, with at least 90 days' written notice.

The notice has to show the dollar amount of the increase, the new rent, and the date it kicks in. A landlord who breaks the cap owes you three months' rent plus damages.

What that looks like on a real Eugene rent

Take a private room in a four-bedroom at Union on Broadway, 0.7 miles from campus, which lists from $949 a month. If the building is covered by the cap, a 2026 renewal can't push that past about $1,039. At Capri Eugene, where four-bedroom rooms start at $599, the most a covered increase could add is about $57 a month. Both turn up among the listings for off-campus housing near the University of Oregon.

Which Eugene Apartments Are Exempt From Oregon's Rent Cap?

Buildings whose first certificate of occupancy was issued less than 15 years before the rent-increase notice are exempt. That's the big one for students. Living in a newer purpose-built student building? Check this first. An exempt building can raise rent by whatever the market will bear at renewal, as long as it follows the notice and once-a-year rules.

Government-regulated affordable housing has its own carve-out, too. A 2025 bill (SB 722) would have shortened the new-building exemption from 15 years to seven, but it never made it out of committee, so 15 years is still the line.

So ask before you sign: "What year did this building get its certificate of occupancy?" If the answer is 2012 or later, assume your renewal isn't capped.

Can an Oregon Landlord Make You Move Out Without a Reason?

Only during your first year of living there. In that window, a landlord can end a month-to-month tenancy with 30 days' written notice and no reason, under ORS 90.427. A fixed-term lease whose end date falls inside your first year can also be ended with 30 days' notice before that end date.

After the first year, the rules flip. A landlord can end your tenancy only for something you did (unpaid rent, lease violations) or for one of four "qualifying landlord reasons," each with 90 days' notice:

• demolishing the unit or converting it to non-residential use
• repairs serious enough that the unit is unsafe to live in during the work
• the landlord or an immediate family member moving in
• a sale to a buyer who plans to live there

Landlords with five or more units also owe you one month's rent when they use a qualifying reason. And here's the part that surprises students: once you're past that first year, a fixed-term lease that runs out turns into a month-to-month tenancy unless you sign a new one or give notice yourself.

Eugene's Extra Renter Protections for UO Students

Eugene layers city rules on top of state law. The city's landlord handbook spells them out.

Application fees and deposits

$10. That's the most a Eugene landlord can charge to screen your application (or the state limit, if it's lower), and the cap survived a court challenge in 2025. Total deposits, including cleaning and last-month deposits, can't top two months' rent. Pet deposits sit outside that cap, and a landlord can add one more month only in narrow cases, such as an applicant they could have legally turned down.

Two months' rent in relocation assistance

Eugene landlords owe two months' rent when they end a first-year tenancy without cause or use a qualifying landlord reason. The same payment applies in two situations students hit more often:

• A rent increase at or above the state maximum. You have to ask for the payment in writing at least 45 days before the increase takes effect.
• A landlord declining to renew a fixed-term lease shorter than one year, after you sent written notice that you want to renew at least 60 days before it ends.

There are 11 exemptions, including landlords who live in the same unit and properties where a landlord rents out their own home for up to three years. If you're renting a room in someone's house, check before you count on the money.

When UO Students Actually Run Into These Rules

Renewal season is where it happens. Eugene leases near campus mostly turn over in June and September, and landlords start listing January through March for fall. If you're a sophomore deciding whether to stay in your place for junior year, the 90-day notice rule means you should know your new rent well before you'd need to start looking elsewhere. Our guide to when to start a University of Oregon housing search lays out that calendar.

Comparing places for next year? Note which buildings are older than 15 years. Those are the ones where a renewal increase is capped. (One law the cap doesn't touch: air conditioning. Our piece on what Eugene apartments near UO are really like covers why older units often don't have it.)

This article explains Oregon and Eugene rental rules in plain English and isn't legal advice. For a specific dispute, contact the City of Eugene's Rental Housing Program or a tenant attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions About Oregon Rent Increases for UO Students

How much can my Eugene rent go up in 2026?

9.5%, if your building is at least 15 years old. Newer buildings aren't covered by the cap. Either way, the landlord can raise rent only once every 12 months, not during your first year, and only with 90 days' written notice.

Can my landlord raise rent when my lease renews?

Yes, but the same limits apply at renewal: no increase during your first year, one per 12 months, 90 days' notice, and no more than the state cap for covered buildings (10% in 2027).

Do I have to move out when my 12-month lease ends?

Not necessarily. Once you've lived there more than a year, an ended fixed-term lease becomes month-to-month unless you sign a new lease or give notice yourself. Your landlord would need cause or a qualifying landlord reason to end it.

What's the most a Eugene landlord can charge to apply?

$10, or the state limit if that's lower. Eugene has enforced the cap since March 2025, after the Oregon Supreme Court declined to review the court ruling that upheld it.

Does Oregon's rent cap apply to new student apartment buildings?

No. Buildings that got their first certificate of occupancy less than 15 years ago are exempt from the percentage cap, though the once-a-year limit and the 90-day notice still apply.